A review of allergic and intolerant reactions to dairy protein experienced by non-infant consumers

Human food allergy and intolerance is of growing concern, with the need to address risk factors posed by direct and indirect effects of transgenic foods. Approximately 0.5-3% of adults are believed to experience hyper-sensitivity to dairy products (Bindels and Hoijer, 1999) with Type I (i.e. IgE-mediated, acute, 'allergy') accounting for the minority of reactions. Thus, nonType I food sensitivity (i.e. non-IgE, late phase, `in-tolerance') is a problem for a significant proportion of the adult population.